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• Peugeot 406 - Crankshaft pulley loose, key broken 25 Oct 2016 (Forum)
  I can't immagine the crankshaft wearing away!  All the other items on the bely appear OK, and turn freely, steering pump. air-con (itself and its clutch), tensioner, and adjustable pulley. the tensioner feels a tad rough but no hint  on any of them of jamming! Many Thanks.
• '54 Fiat Punto Dynamic 1.2 S-A (Dualogic) - Good money after bad? 29 Nov 2015 (Forum)
  If the car stalls due to the gearbox now, she has to wait ten minutes for it to suddenyl decide it will turn over. All lights, air con etc have to be turned off for it to start. which led me to think it may be a voltage regulator issue. At this point the car was dying on a daily basis during her school run and the stress is now too much.
• Renault Scenic - Help me value my Scenic? 11 Apr 2015 (Forum)
  -Rear parcel shelf has a snapped pivot, a snapped "hanger" and is generally pretty minging. -Air-con isn't cold, and hasn't been since it went from freezing to nothing overnight two years ago. -Had the DPF innards removed 3 years ago (when still perfectly legal). Sailed through every MOT since, including one since DPF removal was banned but have to assume new owner will want to reverse this?
• Ford Focus - 2005 1.6 Engine Warning Light 25 Jun 2012 (Forum)
  My father thought it would be a good idea to get it serviced at a ford garage and get a stamp in the book in case I wanted to sell it in a year. Ford did a full 75K service, changed the brake fluid, air con gas, spark plugs etc. Later that day my engine warning light came on, this happened after driving in terrible flooded conditions (loads of water on the roads, splashing up on the car, people in land rovers doing stupid speeds splashing up more water on my car).
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  Can I avoid having my car written off? 14 Apr 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I have had since new a much-cherished top of the range Volvo V70 Cross Country, first registered January 1999. The car has covered 208,000 miles but looks...
• Recommendations for BIG but economical estate pls. 7 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  I need something where new tyres don't cost the earth like the daft S-max 245/45/18s, the cost to fix things/spares aren't extortionate if/when something goes wrong, doesn't need startling performance as fuel economy is more important than performance at present and is pretty reliable generally. Creature comforts: Air con and cruise control are pretty much essential. I know, I know... it's just those small luxuries that I'd really struggle to do without. Budget - dunno... £5k-ish?
• Renault Espace (1997 - 2002) - 02 2.2 Dci engine rattle under load 20 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Cam belt was changd at 75,000 (mileage now 104,000) As far as I can tell, the altenator, power steering pump and air con compresor are all original items and do not appear damaged in any way. Nor does there seem to be anything loose anywhere under the bonnet. I am worried about this noise - usually rattling noises are the forerunner to expensive repairs.
• Honda - These older Hondas are so good! 15 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  I have to say, that if I didn't get the Outback back, I would be very happy with this car (at least until summer car and I missed the air-con). This was a Honda of the old school - remarkably well built, and with faultless reliability (no major repairs at all in 17 years). The only bug bear is the economy, which is fine on the open road, but dives to about 25mpg at best around town, mainly due to the manual choke I reckon.
• Oh so *that's* what the BMW badge means 15 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Mind you, it's not a 105000 mile engine, this is an ex-lease car, and according to the (very comprehensive) service history this car got a new engine at 65000 miles, which, looking at the Honest John review and owners' reviews at parkers.co.uk isn't entirely unknown..... It's also had two new radiators, a new air-con system, a new clutch, new rear suspension bushes and all sorts of other stuff done to it. Still, this car feels *good* somehow, it looks and feels the part, I keep thinking I've stalled it 'cause that straight-six runs so quiet and smooth.
• Car for Inlaws 10 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  They have a Golf (Jan 99 1.6 auto ) loaded with toys to trade in and we will take the old 20,000 mile B reg Polo of their hands to replace the Panda. Based on HJs recommendations I have pointed them in the direction of the Yaris Verso GLS (air con), and this weekend whilst in Newcastle I took them to look at one. The main problem is that they don?t do YELLOW, MIL has always had yellow cars so she can find them easily in the car parks, try the Metro centre car parks and you will see why.
• Jaguar 2004 xtype 2.0dci - Egr Valve, blanking plate, management light 23 Apr 2015 (Forum)
  One of my questions is, when using the blanking plate, do I use the one with the hole in it to fool the car into thinking the erg valve is still running ok. Or do I use the complete blanking plate and totally restrict the air. Yes I kinda know the pros and cons, but basically I don't want the hassle of having any lights coming on, on the dash or having to get the fault fixed every so often. My 2nd question is, my clutch has very long travel before it actually starts to bite.
• Daewoo Nexia Head Gasket 14 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  I will use this thread for any questions I have on this job Daewoo Nexia 1.5L 8V SOHC 1997 P reg, Engine is basically a vauxhall SOHC I have so far removed the air box, wiring loom from top of engine, alternator & belt, Air con belt, exhaust manifold heatshield, fuel feed pipe and return from the fuel rail. Top half timing belt cover, and eventually got the lower half TB cover off aswell.
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  Can I reject a car that does not have a full service history as advertised? 1 Nov 2023 (Ask HJ)
  I have recently purchased a car from a National Car Dealership under the distance online regulations. The car was delivered last week just before I was...
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  Sorely nissed 29 Aug 2009 (Ask HJ)
  Our faithful 1993M Nissan Primera 1.6 LX has been forcibly retired having done 161,000 miles and now requires a new engine (£2,000) as the timing mechanism...
• Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience 9 Jun 2019 (Forum)
  The reasons I bought this car were: 1) Excellent 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. 2) Excellent equipment levels (inc: Cruise control, Air con, Parking sensors, DAB, Bluetooth, Chilled glovebox, Electric heated and adjustable mirrors, Front and rear electric windows etc). Don't know why anyone buying an i20 would feel the need to buy a higher spec car than the SE.
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  Buying a new car - what is recommended? 4 Feb 2014 (Ask HJ)
  I am 85, male and fit. I bought a new Peugeot 308 SE HDI (136) in 2008, and have driven only 22,000 miles. I use my car for short shopping trips, and...
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  What could be causing a strange 'drain-like' odour in our friend's Ford Focus? 29 Aug 2011 (Ask HJ)
  In early July a friend who has a five year old Ford Focus noticed a "dank drain-like" smell in the car. The intervening eight weeks has not seen it diminish....
• Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - 01 1.8 Running very rough - electrical issue? 22 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  I think (though this may be my imagination to some extent) that it also runs smoother when there's less load on the battery i.e. I kill the air con and heated screen etc. I really suspect it's something electrical. I've bought HT leads but not yet fitted them due to only ever remembering mid journey. When it's really stuttering, it interferes with the radio, again leading me to believe it's an electrical fault or a short somewhere.
• Rover - 99 "L" series vacuum pump hose failure 12 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  The connector can be inspected with a torch by looking in from the drivers side of the car, the connector sits directly below the alternator but above the air con pump. To fix you will need to remove the engine cover, disconnect a sensor plug and earth connection, move the wiring loom out of the way, swinging the alternator on its lower holding bolts towards the front of the car.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 04 2.0 TDCi Split pipe 22 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  Divvy question time I've had a hell of a time with my Diesel Mondeo - clutches failed (£850), brakes binding (£104), air con stopped working (split pipe) (Quoted £310+ VAT), PAS handling like a bag o pink fluffy dice - £££££££££££££ - anyway (funny all of these happen after I take them in to a garage for a different thing to be fixed) I got my motor back a week ago from a local garage - needed pads...